Dead Ringer - a Matt Houston Story
by boswifedeb
Summary: A young man and woman are killed within a few miles of each other, a fifty two year old accountant drops dead of a an apparent heart attack, and a man with mob ties dies suddenly. What happens when all four bodies are stolen from the morgue? Matt helps out the LAPD trying to find the corpse rustler. Rated T. **Immediately follows "Tropical Treachery"** Not all are my characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Dead Ringer**

****Immediately follows "Tropical Treachery"****

"**In three words I can sum up everything I've **

**learned about life: it goes on."**

**Robert Frost**

**CHAPTER 1**

"Okay, next question: What are the three fundamental properties of fuels involved in fires?" CJ looked over at her husband Matt as he set the jet's controls to automatic pilot once they had reached their assigned altitude and were far away from any other air traffic.

"The fuel density, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity." Matt took a long swig of coffee out of the travel mug that he had filled before leaving the fueling office of the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. He was taking Roy Houston, his uncle, back to California to recuperate from a heart attack that he had suffered five days previously.

"Good. Now, why should attorneys involved in prosecuting or defending fire cases be familiar with the same chemistry involved in fires like the fire investigators who may be testifying?" She grinned.

"'Cause if they're smart like my sexy lawyer they don't want to ask a question they don't already know the answer to – plus they would be handicapped by not knowing." He leaned forward and kissed his wife before standing up and heading back toward the passenger cabin.

"Correct. Where are you going?"

"To check on Uncle Roy. Be right back." He walked on back to find his uncle reclined in one of the seats and reading a book. "Was the take-off to your satisfaction, Mr. Houston?" He grinned down at the man. Other than looking tired, Roy seemed fine.

"Tip top, my good man – and you don't need to worry about me, Mattlock – I'm just fine." He knew exactly why his nephew had come back to the cabin.

"I know you are. Just came back to get a Fizzy Pop." He walked toward the refrigerator at the back of the cabin.

"Should go really well with that coffee you've got there." Roy cut his eyes over at Matt.

"I'm getting it for CJ." Matt pulled the drink out and headed back up to the cockpit where CJ was snickering.

"Busted." She looked over at Matt as he sat back down in the seat next to her.

"Hush, woman." He handed her the drink, grinning. "Well, he's just as sharp as ever."

She reached across and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. "He's going to be just fine, Matt. All he needs is a little rest and the medication that they gave him."

Matt nodded and took another sip of the coffee and sat looking at the mug. He couldn't help but worry about Roy – considering that his brother, Matt's adoptive father, had died from heart problems. "Okay, let's get back to it." He turned back around to keep watch out of the windshield of the airplane as he continued to be quizzed by his wife for the upcoming test that he had to take for his Fire Technology class.

After the five hour flight to Los Angeles, they were met at the airport by Lamar Pettybone, one of Matt's ranch hands. As he helped Matt get the luggage loaded into CJ's Navigator, he asked how Will was doing.

"He's fine - back at work with Vince and installing the systems." Roy's son Will had been working with his dad and Matt's best friend Vince Novelli putting in security systems for a chain of jewelry stores. After spending a good deal of time and effort putting the deal together, Roy had joined the two on the installation jobs. He had suffered the heart attack after his son was wrongly accused of murder. With the help of a police detective, Matt and Vince had managed to clear the man. Unfortunately, Matt had been forced to kill a pair of brothers who were behind the bogus charges on his cousin: the first after he attacked the private investigator in the hotel and the other, a police lieutenant, when he attacked Matt and held the entire waiting area at the emergency room hostage. He had been holding a gun to CJ's head and was about to pull the trigger when Matt went after him. The former Army Special Forces captain had broken the man's neck with his bare hands, something that he wasn't happy about in the least. The act had brought back a lot of bad memories to Matt from the time that he had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although he was more like himself a few days later, CJ was still keeping an eye on him. She had noticed that he got quiet more often and didn't want to talk too much.

Lamar could tell that Matt didn't really want to talk about it and dropped the subject, switching instead to happenings around the ranch while the couple had been gone. Their daughter, who was now seven months old, had spoken her first word while they were in Florida. Instead of Mama or Daddy, she had said "Cricket" – the name of Matt's favorite horse that he and Catey Rose rode almost daily. "I believe she likes that horse better than she likes you, Houston." Lamar looked over at his boss and grinned as they were stopped at a traffic light.

"Well, at least she knows a good horse when she sees one." Matt smiled, but it quickly faded and the ranch hand decided that maybe a quiet ride would be best. When they arrived at the ranch, they were greeted by a very excited Catey Rose along with her nanny, Sheila Wentworth, and the half-Husky half-Blue Heeler puppy named Chantilly that was now a part of their lives since Sheila had become a member of the household.

"I'm not sure which one is happier to see you two." The former nurse smiled as she handed Catey over to her mother. The trip to Florida had been the first time that both she and Matt had been away from Catey for an extended period of time and they had both missed her terribly. Both of them hugged their daughter at the same time and the baby was giving the pair sloppy kisses.

"Hey there Lady Bug, look who we brought with us." Matt had stepped aside so that Roy could see and hold his great niece who was obviously very glad to see him as well. He walked into the house behind CJ as Matt and Lamar worked on getting the luggage unloaded. Sheila stayed behind to talk to Matt about his uncle for a minute.

"He looks pretty good, Houston." She picked up one of the suitcases and helped the other two as they headed toward the house.

"Yep, just a little tired." Something in his tone caused Sheila to look at him, and she noticed that something seemed to be bothering him.

"He'll be fine." She patted him on the shoulder but didn't get anything else from him but a nod of the head as he went on into the house to take his uncle's bags to the guest room that he would be using while he stayed with them. Sheila and Lamar exchanged a look and shrugged their shoulders before following their boss inside. Neither one had heard about what had happened other than the fact that Will had been cleared of any wrong-doing.

Once inside, CJ got Roy settled in to one of the recliners, after a good bit of arguing. "CJ, I appreciate the concern, but I really need to get up and get moving. I've been lying around too much."

"You need to rest up, Uncle Roy. You know what the doctors told you." She was trying to cover him with an afghan.

"CJ…" Roy's tone got a little sharp. He sighed. "Look, I'm not cold, okay?" He patted her hand. "And yes, I'm supposed to rest, but that doesn't mean that I have to lie around all the time. Exercise is a good thing…right Sheila?" He looked to the nurse for a little back up.

"Yes it is, but…" She sat down next to him and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't try to do too much at one time, okay?"

"I won't, but I'm not going to lay around all the time, either. I didn't live to be this old by sitting on my…ahem, uh, duff all the time." Everyone in the room snickered – except Matt.

"Tell you what…how about you give yourself about an hour to relax and unwind here and then you and me and Catey can go for a stroll? Does that sound acceptable?" Sheila was used to dealing with stubborn men: she had been Matt's nurse quite a few times at the hospital as well as his private nurse after he had been injured in a bomb blast.

"Oh, okay." Roy picked up the book that he had brought in with him and opened it up. Matt stood and watched him for a minute before turning and walking back out through the kitchen and heading down to the barn.

CJ, now carrying Catey Rose, stepped out on the patio to see where he had gone and was joined by Bo who had just headed up to the house from the bunkhouse. He glanced back down the hill at his boss, and gestured over his shoulder at him. "Is he mad about something?" He had tried to talk to Matt but had been shut down.

Watching as Matt climbed the fence and slid onto the back of Cricket and started off through the pastures, CJ sighed. "I need to tell you all what happened while we were gone…but I would advise you not to say anything to him about it." They sat down at the table on the patio and CJ told them about the deaths of the Montoya brothers.

"Well they had it coming." Although he was surprised by how Matt had killed the second brother, Bo didn't see any reason for Houston to be upset by it.

"Yes, they did, but…" She looked back down toward the pasture as Matt was disappearing from sight over a hill. "The whole thing has brought back some memories from his time in the Army that he would rather not remember."

"Oh…" Sheila's late husband Charles had served with the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan and she knew exactly what CJ was talking about.

"If y'all would just kind of keep an eye on him…I've seen him get like this before. Usually it doesn't last too long, but…" CJ stopped right there.

"We'll keep a good eye on him, you know that." Lamar reached across and patted Matt's wife on the hand.

A couple of hours later, Matt rode back up to the barn and started feeding Cricket and the other horses. Lamar and Bo had just walked in the other end of the barn to begin feeding the animals. "Have a good ride, Houston?" Bo was working on filling up the water buckets.

"Yeah, I did." Matt patted on Cricket's neck and then turned to face his two ranch hands. "Bo, I owe you an apology for earlier. I'm sorry I was so short with you."

"Ahhh, you ain't got nothin' to be sorry for – we all have a bad day once in a while." The cowboy continued his work.

"You too, Lamar. I was being a jerk on the way home. Sorry." Matt picked up a bale of hay and cut the twine on it with his knife.

"Nah, you just didn't feel like talkin' right then." The old ranch hand looked up at his boss. "Don't worry about it." He patted Matt on the shoulder as he went on down the hallway.

After finishing up in the barn, Matt headed up to the house just as CJ was putting burgers on the grill. "Looks like I got back just in time." He walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yep, you've got good timing." She finished with the burgers and turned to put her arms around his neck. "Love you." The pair kissed.

"Love you, Babe." He pulled her into a big hug and stayed that way for several minutes, stroking her hair and back.

"Are you two going to have a make out session or cook burgers?" Roy stepped out onto the patio and grinned at the two.

"Both." The couple answered at the same time and caused the older man to chuckle.

Later on that night after putting Catey Rose to bed, Matt and CJ were in one of their favorite places: one of the lounge chairs by the pool. There was a cool wind blowing and the pair was snuggling together under a jacket, CJ in Matt's lap with her head resting on his shoulder. She turned her head and looked at Matt. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright." He glanced over at her and then back up at the stars. "Sometimes things just…get to me, CJ." Matt reached down for her hand. "I've had to do some things in my life; some of them I'm not too proud of…" Looking into her eyes he continued. "But I'm not going to beat myself up anymore over the Montoyas. They both wanted me dead and Carlos wanted you dead, too, not to mention Vince and Will. I did what I had to do."

"I know you did." She snuggled back into his arms. "You always do."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Matt sat down at his desk in the penthouse offices of Houston Investigations. After opening his laptop and finding the lecture that he needed to watch for his fire investigation class, he popped in his earbuds and pulled out a notebook. Ten minutes into the lecture his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID as he paused the lecture. "Hey Lee, what's up?"

"Weird stuff." The police detective looked around and lowered his voice. "You aren't going to believe this but it looks like somebody has taken some bodies from the morgue."

"As in the county morgue?" Matt closed the laptop.

"The very same. You and I both know that there have been a lot of problems with that department in the last year or so and this just ices the cake."

"Or drives a nail in the coffin…sorry, automatic reaction." He heard the cop try to stifle a snicker on the other end of the line.

"Anyway, the chief wants you to come down and take a look if you would. I know you're trying to work on your class stuff."

"That's okay; you've definitely got my attention. Be there in a few." He hung up and locked up the door to his private office, walking across to CJ's office where she was at work on some legal documents for a friend. Looking up, she gave him the raised eyebrow look.

"Don't tell me you're going somewhere – you just got started on your school work."

"Yep." He related the phone call from Lee Jennings.

"Ooookay. Well, don't guess I can blame you." She shook her head and laughed. "Be careful."

"I will." He leaned across the desk and stroked her cheek before kissing her. "Love you."

"Love you, Cowboy. Now go find the corpse rustler."

"I'll be sure to tell Lee that one." He chuckled as he went down the steps to the outer office and boarded the elevator. Turning right out of the parking garage, Matt hit the Harbor Freeway north to the 101 and then took the North Mission Road exit. Although the parking lot at the facility was usually busy, today was a nightmare: TV news trucks were parked in the lot along with a few LAPD vehicles. "Great. Parking lot gridlock." He groaned as he pulled into the parking lot and was stopped by a young police officer. He flashed his LAPD consultant ID and managed to wedge the truck into a spot at the far end of the lot. As he approached the front door, a news crew from one of the local stations spotted him. The reporter, Tamara Placer, made a beeline for him. "Damn." Under his breath he said a few more colorful phrases.

"Mr. Houston, can you tell us about what's going on inside?" The blonde reporter was about to stumble over her high heels as she tried to keep up with him.

"Haven't been inside yet."

"But the LAPD called you in on the case didn't they? Mr. Houston?" She popped her hands on her hips as Matt was let into the building by Sgt. Gabriella Giovanni.

"Congrats – I heard you made detective." Matt flashed a smile.

"Thanks. I start in about a month. I've got two weeks of vacation and I'm taking them before I transfer. Congrats on getting past the bimbo. I'll give you five points for that one."

"Much appreciated." The PI looked up and spied Lee Jennings talking to one of the morgue employees and made his way over.

"Thanks for coming, man." The cop nodded in the direction of another employee who was leaning against the wall several feet away looking up at the ceiling as if bored. A uniformed officer was standing next to him. "Think you could interview that guy? We've got three others. I've kept them separated." He gestured down the hallway where other officers were making sure that they weren't talking to each other.

"No problem." Matt pulled the ever-present notebook out of his back pocket as well as a pen and moved down the hall to the bored-looking man of about 23. "So what can you tell me?"

"That I don't appreciate being held hostage here by a bunch of Nazi cops. Or being treated like a suspect. I see how you're keeping us separated; I watch TV; I know what you're up to." He gave Matt a scathing look.

Matt looked around and then back at the man and motioned him closer. Lowering his voice he whispered conspiratorially. "Wanna know a secret?" That got the man's attention.

"What?"

He gave the man a stern look and his tone dropped. "I'm not a cop. Now tell me what you know."

After giving a big sigh, the man shrugged. "I don't know anything about any bodies missing. I've spent most of the night cleaning."

"Did you see anyone that shouldn't have been here?"

"No."

"Hear anything unusual?"

"No." The man grinned and pulled a pair of earbuds out of his pocket.

"How long have you been working here?" Matt continued questioning him, asking everything from his contact information to when he had taken his last break.

"Can I leave now?"

"You can leave when that guy says you can." He pointed at Lee who had moved on down to the next employee.

Matt went on down the hall and began talking to the next worker, a scared looking young woman. "What can you tell me about what happened?" Matt flipped to a fresh page in his notebook. In a very thick accent, she began trying to tell him but kept stumbling over her words. "eyHey, Rick – could you grab us a chair, please?" He asked the young officer who was assigned to keep an eye on the woman. "Thanks, bud." He motioned the young woman into the chair and when he spoke next it was in Spanish. "Have a seat. Now take a big breath. What's your name?" The young woman looked surprised.

"Silvia Nereida."

"Okay, now? Alright. Did you see or hear anything unusual tonight?" Matt knelt down in front of her.

"No, I was working on the laundry. The machines are very noisy and it's hard to hear anything. But I did see a man…well, I think I did."

"Can you explain?"

"It was so fast, I wasn't sure that I actually saw anyone. This place gives me the creeps." She looked down at her hands and then back up at the PI. "I know that sounds silly, like a child, but if I could find another job I would leave here this minute."

"It's kind of a creepy place. So who did you think you saw?"

"It was an older man – maybe fifty or so, with gray hair, kind of long. About shoulder length. He was about average height. I was pulling sheets out of one of the dryers and put them on the table. As I turned back to the machine I caught sight of him – out of the corner of my eye. I think he was watching me. When I looked again he was gone. I thought maybe someone was just lost."

"Can you show me where you were when you saw him?" He stood back up and followed her down the hall and to a room on the left hand side of the hallway. The laundry equipment was in use and she had been right – it was noisy. "Where were you standing?" He stayed in the doorway as she approached one of the dryers. "And he was standing here?"

"Yes sir, right where you are, but kind of more hidden by the doorway. That's it."

Matt had backed up a step and was peeking around the corner. "Okay, so was he heading on down the hall this way?" He pointed in the direction away from the others who were gathered in the hallway.

"Yes." She came back out. "Maybe I should have told someone but people get confused and lost in here quite often." She watched as he looked up and made note of the security cameras that were installed in the hallway.

"Did anything else happen?"

"No sir. It was just like any other night except for that."

After taking down the rest of her information, he thanked her for her help and the two walked back up toward Lee who had just finished with the last employee. "Can she leave now?"

"Sure, as long as you've got her information."

Once again he spoke in Spanish. "Thanks again for your help. We might be calling you." Matt gave her a smile and she nodded shyly and went on down the hallway. "She says she saw a man." He led Lee down the hallway and showed him exactly where she had been standing and gave him the description. "We need to look at the video from the security cameras."

"Huh, wish we could. They weren't working." The cop had a disgusted look on his face.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. Want to take a look?"

"Why not?" Matt followed the cop to the security office. Sitting behind a desk was a young man who looked ready to pull his hair out.

"Houston, this is Joey Candless. He was one of four guards working the night shift. The other three are in there." He pointed to a glassed in office where Carl Trenton was talking to the three uniformed guards. "Joey here was in charge of the video surveillance."

"So what happened to the cameras?"

"I don't know, sir. When I clocked in last night at 11:00 they were fine."

"Mind if I take a look?"

"No sir." The young man got up and moved aside as Matt came around the desk.

The PI got a smirk on his face as he sat down. "When did this equipment get installed, Joey?"

"About two weeks ago." Matt nodded and slid the keyboard over, flipped it over and hit something on the underside, then set it back down on the desk. After punching several keys, all of the monitors turned blue for a minute and then came to life. "How did you do that?"

Matt remained quiet as he punched more keys and brought up the feed from the previous night. He fast-forwarded until 3:00AM. "Bingo." He rewound a little and then played the feed at normal speed. A man that matched the description given by Silvia Nereida was clearly visible moving around in the building and loading four bodies into a delivery-type truck. "He looks right at the cameras – didn't try to cover his face or anything." Looking up at the young man, he cocked his head. "You were assigned to this station all night?"

"Yes sir." Joey looked down at his shoes.

"Uh huh." Matt turned back and began punching keys. The kid leaned over and looked at the screen in first amazement and then embarrassment.

"Joey, somehow I don't think watching is in your job description." He punched a couple of other keys and the printer came to life. Matt stared at the young man and picked up the four pages and read through them. "How long have you been working here?"

"Six months."

"You might want to use a computer to find job listings – instead of porn." Matt slipped a flash drive into a USB port and downloaded the video of their suspect. "Go have a seat over there." He picked up the papers and the flash drive and headed to the office where Trenton was interviewing the other guards. He walked in and leaned against the wall on the right-hand side of the office and listened as one of the guards, a man of about forty with a gray ring of fringe around a mostly bald head was sweating buckets as he tried to explain that he hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary all night long. The nameplate on his chest read "Hall".

"Mr. Hall, you didn't happen to see anyone at about 3:00AM did you?"

"No. No I was up on the second floor making my rounds."

"Sure about that, are you?" The look Matt gave the man made him stop and reconsider.

"Well, I was in the security office for a while, uh, maybe it was, well yeah, I guess it was about then."

"What about the rest of y'all?" Matt looked at the other two guards, one of them a little older than Joey and one who appeared to be about sixty.

"We were taking a break then, too, come to think of it." The oldest guard, Morgan according to his nametag nodded his agreement and looked at the other guard who nodded as well.

"Uh huh." Matt looked at Trenton and spoke again. "Let's make a trip out here, gents." He turned and went out to the bank of computer monitors and sat down in the chair. After consulting the print out he had made earlier he punched some keys and a porn website flashed on all of the monitors. He then shut it off. "I'm gonna make a guess here, fellas. I'm guessing that about 2:30 this morning y'all were kinda bored and Joey here knew how to liven things up in the morgue, am I right?" There was absolute silence. "Then about 3:30 the monitors went to snow and young Joey here has been furiously pounding the keyboard ever since trying to straighten the situation out." More silence.

Lee spoke up. "Carl, let's give these guys a ride down to the station. And tell the guys from the dayshift that they can come in here now." The four guards shuffled out with Carl and Lee managed not to laugh until they were gone. "Damn! How did you do that?"

"I helped to design the system with Derwin Dunlap." Matt chuckled and shook his head. "A lot of the porn sites are great places to pick up a computer virus. When one hits off of one of those sites, the monitors will go to snow – sure to catch someone's attention – hopefully the boss, who is supposed to be the only one to know about the reset button under the keyboard."

"So the virus triggers a shutdown of the system to protect it?"

"Yep – and it also alerts the boss to wasted man hours if you will." Matt grinned.

"That's good…sneaky, but good." He blew out a breath. "Okay, so now we have video of the guy snagging the bodies."

"Do we know who he took?"

"Yeah, although for the life of me…" He looked at Matt who was smirking again. "Let me rephrase that. I don't why in the hell someone would steal a dead body – let alone four of them." Reaching into his shirt pocket, Lee removed a list and handed it to Matt.

"Have these folks already been posted?" He looked down the list, recognizing one of the names.

"No."

"So maybe somebody is trying to cover up something – like maybe an unnatural death. We need to pull whatever records they have on these folks and see what we can find out about them."

"Okay, I guess the receptionist would be the best place to start." They headed down the hall to find two women sitting in the reception office. "Good morning, ladies. Det. Lee Jennings." He flashed his badge. "We need all the information you have on these four names here." Handing the paper over to the older lady, he gave the younger one a smile that was returned with interest. Matt looked between the two. Lee seemed to have frozen in place with the smile on his face and had no idea that the older lady had printed out the information and was trying to hand it to him. Trying to help the cop out, Matt gave the lady a smile as he reached for the papers.

"Thank you, ma'am." He looked at Lee who was still looking at the young lady. "Det. Jennings?" He punched the cop in the ribs.

"Huh?"

"I think you might need to get some information from the young lady." Matt gave the cop a grin as the gears in his head finally came back to life.

"Uh yeah, better do that. Miss, would you mind stepping over here, please?" He walked a few feet away and the woman gladly went to speak to him.

Matt and the older lady exchanged a look and a smile. He gave a chuckle and began reading through the list which was in chronological order according to when the bodies had been brought in to the morgue. First on the list was Michael Allen Griesman, age 52, who had been brought in at 11:27PM. According to the file it appeared that Mr. Griesman had suffered a heart attack while shopping in a local grocery store at about 10:15.

Sneaking a look over at Lee, who was deep in conversation with the young woman, Matt shook his head and went back to the list. The second person that was brought in was Monica Ashley Carter, age 20, brought in at 1:05AM. She was found in an alley that ran between East Second Street and East Third Street off of South St. Louis Street and South Chicago Street. There was no apparent cause of death. Third on the list was Mario Luis Santiago, age 19, who had apparently been killed by a blow to the head. He was found lying in the middle of the Long Beach Freeway not far from where Monica Carter had been found in East LA. He had been brought in at 1:34AM.

The PI looked up to see that Lee was wrapping up his conversation with the young lady and she, blushing, was headed back behind the counter as her older counterpart winked at Matt who smiled. Looking back down at the list, he read about the fourth body that was brought in, Mario Gianfranco Concetto. That got Matt's attention. Concetto had been in the spotlight a few years earlier during a trial involving prostitution and drug distribution. He had been a mid-level employee of one of the reputed crime families and had supposedly turned state's evidence. The trial was a flop: the DA had withdrawn the charges because witnesses kept disappearing and the rumor on the street was that Concetto had played the DA's office and had never really turned into an informant. Matt had figured that the fact that the man was still alive a few years after the trial was proof that the street theory was true. Mob informants as a whole generally tended to have a short shelf life and the fact that Mario Concetto had never left town seemed to reinforce that theory. He was considered to be an unofficial restaurant critic in the city and had the waistline to prove it. Concetto had been brought in at 2:00AM.

"Anything interesting?" Lee looked like he was in shock.

"I could ask you the same thing." The pair walked toward the front doors.

"You could say that." The cop was smiling from ear to ear.

"So when are you going out?" Matt cut his eyes over at Lee.

"I didn't ask her out yet." He stopped and turned back to look at Houston who had stopped and was standing in the lobby looking at him like he had lost his mind.

"We need a copy of this list." He turned Lee around by his shoulders and handed him the papers. "Get your ass back over there and ask her out while they're printing. I'll pick up the tab." Giving the cop a shove he winked at the older lady who quickly left the counter. He watched from the corner of his eye as Lee handed the young lady the papers and apparently asked the question: her face turned bright red and so did his ears. Matt chuckled and looked back out the front door. Lee returned momentarily and once again looked like he was in shock but also wore a goofy grin. "So she said yes. When is it?"

"Tonight at 7:00. Ricardo's." Lee looked at Matt as they headed outside. "Why did you do that?"

"Because it's a sin to waste time, bud. I did enough of that for everybody and I'm not going to let you do that. You're going to marry that girl, mark my words."

"What?!"

"Betcha ten bucks. Now gimme a copy of the list. I'm going to go see what I can get from BABY and you see what you can come up with on criminal records and facial recognition of the guy that swiped the cadavers. Here, don't lose it." He tossed the flash drive to the astounded cop. "Call you later." He headed for his truck, grateful that the blonde bimbo was gone from the parking lot. Looking back over his shoulder at Lee he yelled out, "And wear another tie – that one sucks."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

When Matt stepped off of the elevator at his office, he stopped at his secretary's desk. "Chris, I've got a very important job for you. I want you to call down to Ricardo's and tell them that Lee Jennings will be there tonight with a young lady and to put it on my tab."

"Ah ha! Who's the girl?" She picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Don't know her name yet – but it will eventually be Mrs. Lee Jennings." He gave her a big smile.

"Been playing Cupid, have you?" CJ had heard the exchange.

"Just giving him a nudge in the right direction." He gave her a kiss. "Feel like helping me?"

"Well of course. You need lots of supervision." She got up and followed him out to the main part of the office. "This is going to require coffee, isn't it?"

"I believe so." Matt stepped over the back of the couch and turned on the computer that was lovingly referred to as BABY. The section of the couch that he was sitting on slid forward and the coffee table opened up to reveal the workings of the computer. Up on the blinds that had closed when he activated the computer to become the monitor was the usual greeting: "HIYA, BOSS!"

"Howdy right back at ya, BABY." He pulled the list out of his pocket and began punching keys. CJ stepped over the back of the couch with two cups of coffee and handed one to Matt who now leaned back and took a sip. "Thank you, ma'am." He nodded at the screen. "This is the list of folks who were uh, spirited away, if you will." Snickering, he looked at his wife who just rolled her eyes. "You're just mad 'cause you didn't think of it."

"True. Go ahead."

"Anyway our first person was Michael Allen Griesman, age52, brought in at 11:27PM after dying from an apparent heart attack at the Cart Packer Grocery on Beverly Boulevard. He died about 10:15. According to what BABY says here, he was a cost accountant at Lester & Bolton and had been there since he graduated from UCLA. He was married for twenty two years to Hannah Lee Summers who passed away six years ago. That's about all that we have on him."

He punched a few more buttons. "The second one to come in last night was Monica Ashley Carter, age 20, she was found in an alley that ran between East Second Street and East Third Street and got to the morgue about 1:05AM. They didn't have a clue what had happened to her. BABY says that she was a high school dropout and had bounced from job to job since she was sixteen. There are several addresses for her. Apparently she bounced from home to home, too."

"What about drug use?"

The PI shook his head as he swallowed coffee. "I don't see anything about it on here. Lee is going to check the criminal records – if he can get his head out of the clouds." He took another drink. "What I found interesting was this fella," he punched a few more keys, "… Mario Luis Santiago. They found this guy in the middle of the Long Beach Freeway with a head wound."

"What's so interesting about that?"

"He was only a couple of miles from where they found Monica Carter."

"Who didn't have a scratch on her. Okay. I see your reasoning here."

"You're going to love the last one." He punched a couple of keys and up popped a picture of Concetto.

"Mario Concetto? Wow, which one got him – the mob or the canoli?" CJ nodded her head. "Remember the time Mama kicked him out of the restaurant?" She was referring to Mama Rosa Novelli, mother to their best friend Vince Novelli, a former LAPD detective. Novelli's Restaurant had been one of the top in Los Angeles when Vince had been shot. They closed the restaurant and moved to Hawaii, starting a new one on Waikiki Beach. It was a hit.

"Yep. That was priceless." Matt chuckled. "His cause of death was unknown as well. He was brought into the morgue at 2:00AM and the cadaver rustler showed up about 3:00AM." Leaning back he put his left arm around her and drank more coffee. "Out of all of them, he seems the most likely cause for the disappearances, but I still wonder about Carter and Santiago."

"What I don't get is if our body snatcher was after just one - or considering what you said about Carter and Santiago – two of the bodies, why take four?"

"Maybe to throw us off the trail? That's the only thing that comes to mind so far."

"What we've got here isn't very helpful."

"I know. I'm going to see if I can track down some friends or family members and see what I can get from them."

"Be careful of what kind of _"family"_ members you come across with Concetto." After thinking for a minute she leaned forward and went through more on the reputed mobster. "He was married to Orsina Augusta Ampelio." She grabbed a pad of paper and jotted down the address and phone number for Concetto's widow as well as the contacts listed for the three others who had been snatched and handed him the paper. "Go get 'em."

"So now you're trying to get rid of me?"

"The sooner you get done, the sooner you get back." She gave him a sultry look back over her shoulder as she headed to her office.

"And then what?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"And then you can get your schoolwork done." Snickering she went into her office.

Matt closed up the computer, went over the back of the couch, and started down the steps to the elevator. "Love you even if you don't love me." He winked at Chris who just rolled her eyes.

From her office CJ replied, "Love you, too, Cowboy. Now get to work!"

"Slave driver!" Matt boarded the elevator, collected his truck from the parking garage, and headed over to the station to see what Lee had so far. He bounded up the stairs inside the police station and hit the coffee pot behind Luis Sanchez's desk before going over and stealing a chair from an empty desk and propping his feet on the detective's desk while waiting for him to get off the phone.

"Any luck?" Lee put down the receiver and picked up his own cup of coffee.

"Nope. You?"

"Concetto was the only one with a record – unless you count a couple of speeding and parking tickets."

"Wanna go talk to the widow?"

"That's as good a place as any to start I guess. Might as well ride together."

On the way to Concetto's house both men were quiet. Matt cut his eyes over at the cop. "Nervous?"

"Nope." Lee was quiet for a minute. "Why did you say that?"

"What?"

"That I'm going to marry her – I just met the girl."

"Because you will. Trust me." Matt smiled and looked out the window.

They pulled up to the ornate wrought iron gates of Mario Concetto's home. Standing guard were what looked like two typical old school mobsters: one was tall and skinny with a nose like a ski slope while the other was short and rotund with a handlebar moustache. Lee flashed his badge. "We need to speak with Mrs. Concetto."

"Not today. She ain't receivin' visitors. She's in mourning." The short one gave him a solemn stare.

"I'm sure she is, but we really need to ask her some questions so that we can find out what happened to her husband."

"How ya gonna do that when you can't even keep track of his body?"

The two detectives exchanged a look. "Fellas, we only need a couple of minutes of her time. We don't want to cause her any more distress." Matt looked at the short one who seemed to be in charge. The rotund man nodded to the tall one who stepped inside a small building and picked up the phone. He was back in under a minute and nodded to the short one.

"She agreed to see you – but only for a few minutes." Shorty stood back from the car as the tall guy pulled a remote from his pocket and opened the gate.

Lee dropped the car into gear and slowly went up the sweeping driveway. "Kinda like Mutt and Jeff, huh?"

"Or Mario and Luigi." Matt snickered.

They were met at the door by a maid and led into the living room. "Mrs. Concetto will be with you shortly."

A couple of minutes later the widow appeared. Once again, Lee flashed the badge. "I'm Det. Lee Jennings, LAPD. This is Matt Houston, a consultant to the department. We're very sorry for your loss and hate to intrude, but we really need to ask you a few questions. Do you know of anyone who might have wanted to harm your husband?"

"No, and I don't know why someone would steal him from the morgue."

"Has he had any problems with anyone recently?"

"No. My husband is a peaceful man who spent his life being hounded needlessly by the police and the courts."

Matt finally spoke up. "Ma'am, we really don't have anything to do with any of that – we're just trying to find his body and get whoever did this off the street."

"That's the very least you can do." She turned and left the room and the two detectives were escorted to the front door by the tall man from the front gate.

As they went down the driveway, Lee blew out a breath. "That was a waste of time."

"So where do you want to go next?"

"I guess we can try the last address for Monica Carter." He turned out of the driveway and headed toward the address that was a few blocks away from where the young woman had been found. Eyes watched the two from behind curtains as they parked in front of the house and made their way up the cracked sidewalk to the front steps. Lee knocked on the door. It was answered by a young woman with a baby on her hip and another young child peeking out from behind her leg. The cop introduced himself and Matt again and asked if she could tell them anything about Monica.

"She's not here." The young woman eyed them warily.

"Yes ma'am, she uh...well, I'm sorry to have to tell you but she's dead." If Jennings was hoping for a reaction he didn't get much of one.

The woman shook her head. "I'm not surprised. What do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, we were wondering if you could tell us a little bit about her."

"She lived here sometimes when she didn't have somewhere else to go. I would let her crash on the couch."

Lee was taking notes. "And how did you know her?"

"She's my sister."

Matt and the cop exchanged a look. "Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt her?"

"No, I don't know who she hung out with. She would come and go."

"Did she have a job?"

"Sometimes. I know she worked some as a shampoo girl at the salon up on Third. Don't know the name of it."

"Did she have a boyfriend?"

"Only the one night kind – and a lot of them. Look, I got stuff to do. I don't have anything else to tell you."

"Do you have a phone number where we can contact you? The coroner will need to notify you."

"For what?"

"For burial."

"Phhtt. I ain't got no money for that. Let the city bury her." With that she slammed the door in their faces.

"Damn. No family love there." The pair went back to the car. "Okay, let's try Mario Santiago."

They headed to an address a few blocks away and knocked on the door of a rundown house. It was opened by an elderly woman who looked as if she had been crying. Lee introduced himself and Matt and they were invited inside. "Please have a seat."

"I take it you've been notified about Mario?"

She nodded, wiping away fresh tears with a handkerchief. "My grandson. The only one I had left."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry for your loss. Do you have any idea who might have wanted to hurt him?" Matt spoke quietly.

"Mario was a good boy. Never in trouble. He worked two jobs just to try to keep the rent paid and food on the table. It's been just the two of us since he was four years old."

"Did he have any problems with anyone recently?" Lee had his notebook out, but had a feeling that it wasn't going to do much good.

"He got into a fight over a girl about a week ago. They had been dating for a couple of months and he found out that she was with someone else."

"Do you know what her name was?"

"Monica – Monica Carter."

The two looked at each other. "Do you know anything about her?"

"I met her once. I didn't want to hurt Mario's feelings but she just wasn't the right one for him. The kids these days are just wild – running the streets at all hours, taking drugs and drinking. And I overheard her talking at the hair dresser where I go. She worked as a shampoo girl." She shook her head in disgust. "Talking about how many men she had been with. I didn't want him to get involved with her." Lee got the name of the salon and the owner, telling Mrs. Santiago that they would contact her when they had any information. "But who would take him from the morgue? That's just sinful!" She started crying again and the two left a couple of minutes later after trying unsuccessfully to calm her down.

"La Tienda del Pelo" was located about six blocks away on Third Street. When they walked through the door, every eye was on the two tall men. The owner, Angela Jessenia, approached. "May I help you?"

Lee explained why they were there and every wet head in the shop came out from under the hair dryers. Matt could hear the women whispering in Spanish about what had happened.

"So she was one of the ones they were talking about on the news?" She shook her head sadly. "Like it isn't bad enough to be dead, somebody had to steal her body."

"We were just talking to a Mrs. Santiago. Her grandson had dated Monica and there was a fight over her. Do you know anything about that?"

"No, but I'm not surprised. Monica...well, she was a tramp, plain and simple. Have you talked to Mario about it?"

"No ma'am, he uh..." Lee looked at Matt.

"He was found dead last night on the Long Beach Freeway." Matt filled her in.

"Dear, sweet Jesus, no. That's who they found?" The noise of this new piece of gossip circling the shop was even louder than the first.

"Yes ma'am. We wondered if the two deaths were related."

"So did he get stolen, too?" Jessinia was standing with her mouth agape.

"Yes ma'am." The noise in the shop disappeared.

Crossing herself the woman shook her head. "I have no idea who would kill him – much less take the body. That's just terrible. His poor grandmother must be beside herself."

"Yes ma'am, she is." Matt handed her a card as did Lee. "Please call us if you hear anything that might be able to help us."

"I sure will, hon. And I'm gonna go see Mrs. Santiago, too. Bless her. She's the sweetest lady. She shouldn't have to deal with anything like this."

"Do any of you other ladies have any information that might help us?" Matt turned and looked around the room. Heads were shaking. "If you do, please let us know." The pair left.

"Well that's more than we've gotten from anyone else all morning." Jennings started the car.

"The only contact information I have for Michael Griesman is his work. He was a widower and apparently didn't have any family." Matt pulled the list out of his pocket.

"Okay, let's hit his place of employment. From what we've heard so far, I'd say the Carter-Santiago deal sounds the most likely...but it still doesn't explain why someone stole the bodies. I mean Monica Carter was so unstable nobody is surprised that she's dead. They sure as heck aren't crying over her. But Mario Santiago is a different story."

"What about the facial recognition on our suspect from the morgue?" Matt felt like they were running around in circles.

"Nothing yet. And I've got a feeling if we don't hear something back on it we're going to be out of luck on this whole deal."

"You and me both."

They pulled into the parking garage of the downtown office building where the accounting firm of Lester & Bolton had their offices. Exiting the elevator on the tenth floor they approached a receptionist. For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Lee flashed the badge and asked to speak to whoever had been Michael Griesman's supervisor. The receptionist punched a line on her phone and a moment later was connected with Mr. Sanderson. "Mr. Sanderson will be out in just a minute." She looked at the two men and then lowered her voice. "Michael's not in trouble is he?"

"No ma'am." Matt and Lee exchanged a look. The PI figured they didn't have much to lose, so he spoke again. "Do you know him?"

"Yes, he's a great guy. Kinda sad though, his wife passed away a few years ago. He spends most of his time here. Always working late. But he's a real sweetheart. What's going on?"

"I'm afraid he's dead."

"No."

"Yes ma'am."

The tears started. "What in the world happened?"

"The EMT's thought he might have had a heart attack. By the time they got to the grocery where he was shopping he was already gone."

"That's so sad. And no family to tell." She loudly honked her nose into a tissue as Mr. Clark Sanderson appeared.

"Jackie, are you okay?" The man shot a look at the two detectives.

"They said Michael is dead – had a heart attack."

"Oh no...he's one of the best employees we have here and a top notch guy. When did it happen?" Lee explained the circumstances again.

"Well, he didn't have any family." Sanderson looked at the secretary who was still crying. "We would be happy to set up the funeral arrangements. Michael was a big part of our success."

"There's a problem with that. I don't know if you've heard any news this morning..." Lee was interrupted by the secretary.

"NO! Please don't tell me he got taken by the body snatcher they were talking about on TV."

"Yes ma'am, I'm afraid so. We've been working to find out who might have done it."

"I can't think of any reason why someone would deliberately do that to Michael. Everyone loved him."

"So you don't know of any enemies or someone holding a grudge."

"No, not at all." Sanderson shook his head. "This is the damnedest thing I've ever heard of – don't they have security down there?"

"Yes sir. It seems that they're having some personnel issues at the moment." Lee looked at Matt and sighed. After talking a few more minutes and assuring Mr. Sanderson that they would call him if they found out anything, the pair left the building and went back to the station. "We've got to get something on the facial recognition – I don't know where else to go. It looks like somebody just decided to steal the bodies."

After returning to the office and having lunch with CJ and Chris, Matt went back to the couch and pulled BABY up once again. CJ watched from her office, as he went back to hunting for more information on their victims of the body snatching. He had told her about Monica Carter's sister and Mario Santiago's grandmother. She knew that the elderly woman was the reason he was now pounding the keyboard instead of working on his school work. A couple of hours later he entered her office with two cups of coffee, setting one on her desk and settling himself down on her loveseat with one for himself. When she reached the end of the page she was working on she looked up to see him staring at the ceiling. "No luck?" He shook his head. Getting up and moving around the desk, she picked up the cup that he had brought for her and sat down next to him, snuggling in as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "From what you've told me, it sounds like the deaths of Mario and Monica were most likely related in some way. Concetto…well, he was involved with the mob and maybe he ticked someone off. Or he could well have had a heart attack. Griesman was fifty two, and it isn't at all unusual for a man that age to have a heart attack. But the snatching…" She shook her head. "And in the case of Mario it isn't enough just to find out who killed him. His grandmother needs to bury him." Matt nodded and then his phone rang. "Yeah, Lee – whatcha got?"

"I'm not sure. We got a hit on the facial recognition software, but…"

"But what?"

"According to our records the guy who stole the bodies is already dead."

"Huh?" Matt sat up.

"Yeah, his name was Frederick Lutz Kord. I looked him up and the coroner couldn't pin down an exact cause."

"He sure looked lively enough on the surveillance video." Matt drank coffee. "Okay, I'm stuck so I guess I'll see what I can find out about him. Did you find another tie?"

"Uh, no. I've been working."

"Come up here to the office. If I'm not here I'll leave one out for you. Don't forget." He hung up the phone snickering.

"What was that all about?" CJ followed him downstairs where he eyed the ties that were hanging in the closet as he explained what Jennings had found. Picking out a nice navy blue silk tie with a bright blue scattered bar pattern, he went back upstairs and opened up the computer once again.

"Okay, Frederick Lutz Kord, born October 31, 1959, died June 4, 2012, age 52. Mr. Kord was originally from Germany and came to the US in 1977. He attended UCLA and graduated with two degrees: Biology and Engineering. He went to work for BioMediTech and was part of a team that worked on advancing prosthetic limbs. That's impressive. Let's see...married three times, divorced twice, the last wife died two years before he did. His body was discovered in his back yard by a meter reader. The ME could find no cause of death. That's weird." He continued to look for information on the man but only came up with articles in professional journals that he had authored or co-authored and awards that he had won. "Seems to have been a good guy. It says here in his obituary that he was buried at Forest Lawn."

"Well obviously Mr. Kord wasn't running amok in the morgue. So who was impersonating him?" CJ was stumped.

"I don't know." Matt leaned back and looked at his watch. "I believe I'm going to call it a day. Maybe something will come to mind on this deal overnight."

"I think that's a good idea." CJ gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For caring about whether or not Mrs. Santiago gets to bury her grandson." She got up and went to her office to put away her work while Matt closed up the computer and gathered his laptop and schoolbooks. On the drive home, he turned the case over and over in his mind.

After taking Catey on her nightly ride on Cricket, having dinner, and giving the baby a bath, Matt pulled out his school work and began working at the kitchen table. Roy, CJ, and Sheila were in the den watching an old movie when he closed up his laptop and books and called it quits for the evening. He went into the den and stretched out on the couch with his head in CJ's lap and began watching the movie. The story was about a scientist who had been badly burned in a lab accident and had then attempted to transplant the face of someone else to his own skull. The PI had begun dozing and was half-listening to the show when an idea came to him. He jumped up suddenly, startling not only CJ but Sheila and Roy as well.

"Matt, what in the world are you doing?" CJ watched as he pulled out his laptop and began working the keyboard.

"I've got an idea." He kept working the keyboard and then stopped and began reading. CJ and Sheila exchanged a look and remained quiet. "I think I just figured out how Frederick Kord robbed the morgue."


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

"Someone made a mask of Kord's face and used it to swipe the bodies from the morgue."

"And you figured this out by falling asleep watching a movie?" Lee Jennings set down the cup of coffee that he had been drinking.

"I didn't fall asleep exactly...more like kinda dozing and thinking. Anyway, it makes more sense than anything else. And it also seems to me that it would have to be someone who worked at the morgue that did it. We need to find out who was working there at the time that Frederick Kord died and check them out."

"Let's go." Lee chugged down the rest of his coffee and the pair set off together to go speak to the head of personnel at the morgue.

"So how did it go last night?"

"Great. She's absolutely amazing. Thanks for giving me a push – literally." Lee cracked up. "We're going out again tonight."

"Aha! So where are you going?"

"There's a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, and we're having a picnic beforehand."

"Uh huh." Matt grinned and looked out the passenger window. "No wonder you don't mind going back to the morgue."

"Doesn't bother me at all anymore." Lee laughed and then went on to tell Matt all about her and was still talking about her when they pulled into the parking lot. The PI grinned as he got out of the car.

Inside they went to the reception desk where the two ladies were once again at work. The younger of the two smiled at Lee as they approached. "Houston, this is Bridgette Adler. Bridgette, Matt Houston. He's a consultant to the department."

"Nice to meet you – again." Matt gave her a big smile.

"We need to talk to the head of personnel." After making sure that Mrs. Hidalgo was in fact in her office, the pair went up to the third floor where they introduced themselves and had a seat as Lee explained what they needed. Anna Hidalgo worked the keyboard and came up with a list which she handed over to the cop.

"Did you know any of these folks personally?" Matt leaned over and was looking at the list with his friend.

"No, that was before I came to work here. I've been here about two months."

"Do all of these people still work here?"

"No, no one but Miss Agnes – she works at the reception desk. She could probably tell you about some of them."

"Thanks very much. If you would, please keep this quiet." Lee stood and shook her hand as did Matt.

The two men boarded the elevator. "Darn, we've got to go back to the reception desk." Matt grinned and cut his eyes over at Lee who blushed.

"To borrow a phrase from my boss, "Shut up, PI."" He grinned as he stepped out of the car and went back to where the two ladies were once again handling paperwork and fielding phone calls. After telling Agnes Bowen what they needed, Bridgette told her that she would cover the desk.

After suggesting that they go outside, Agnes led the way and the three went out the front door and around to the west side of the building. Lee handed her the list and both men pulled out their notebooks.

"Archie Montgomery was a good worker, God rest him. He passed away two weeks after he retired. Guess you can mark him off your list. John Brit." She rolled her eyes. "That man was the sorriest excuse for a human being I ever saw, but he did a good job. Never late and I don't think he ever missed a day. I'm not sure why, but he just up and quit one day. Lisa Goddard was pretty good. Showed up late a few times, but she was a newlywed." The woman laughed. "She was real good working with the families. Never any problems. Julius Martin was another good worker. Loved to talk and I believe that's what got him fired. I never heard exactly what happened. Rory Allistair was another good worker, but he was fired as well. I never heard what the reason was for it, but I think he moved to Florida or Georgia, somewhere back east." She handed the list back. "I don't know if that helped you boys any."

"Yes ma'am, at least we know there's one person that we don't have to check on and having your opinion helps us know what to look for when we interview them." Matt closed up his notebook and put it back in his pocket.

"We need to try to keep this quiet, please ma'am." Lee looked at the woman.

"Believe me, I know. This place has had too much bad publicity the last few years as it is." Agnes rolled her eyes. "If that's all you boys need I better get back in here before Bridgette sends out the troops." They walked her back around to the front steps. "Oh, by the way, young man: she had a great time last night. That's all she's talked about today." She gave Lee a smile and went back inside.

"Okay, so..." He tried to play off the fact that he was happy to hear the news.

"Way to go, Romeo." Matt snickered as they went back to the car.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Lee reached into the backseat and handed Matt the tie that he had borrowed.

"Hang on to it – you might need it again."

"I can't keep this – God only knows how much this thing cost. I was scared to death that I would get salsa on it last night."

"Well don't be – it's yours now."

"I appreciate it, Houston." The cop started the car. "You know, maybe the lieutenant was wrong about you." He tried to keep from grinning.

"No, probably not." Matt got a copy of the list and headed back to the office and began looking up information on their new leads. CJ came in and together they combed through the names. He headed to the bar to pour coffee for them while CJ began reading off what they had found on John Brit. "John James Brit, age 47, lives in the Arrington Arms Apartments over on La Brea. Let's see: single, has moved around to several jobs…twenty jobs to be accurate."

As he stepped over the back of the couch and handed a cup to CJ, he commented. "Miss Agnes said that he was a sorry excuse for a human being but was good at his job and was reliable."

"Sounds like he doesn't get along too well with other folks. The morgue sounds like the perfect place for him." She took a sip. "I don't really see anything too spectacular about him – he's probably a just a grump."

"So we move on." Matt took over the keyboard. "Lisa Goddard, 30, worked there for about three years altogether. She has two kids now…wow, twins..." He punched a few more keys. "…and now works as a teacher's assistant. That's about all I see on her." Returning to the keyboard he typed in Julius Martin. "Okay, Miss Agnes said this guy was a good worker but liked to talk. He's 37, single, and is now…unemployed. From what I'm seeing he's been fired from four different jobs since he worked there. I'm not finding anything else on him." He took a sip of coffee and then punched in Rory Allistair. "Moved to Florida and went to work for Mega Park." Looking over at his wife he gave a smirk. "Going from working in a morgue to working at one of the liveliest places on earth was quite a transition."

"You're not kidding." She scrolled down the page. "Looks like he left there…but I'm not seeing anything else on him. Like he dropped off the face of the earth." Continuing to punch keys she shook her head. "Absolutely nothing else – no death notice, no more addresses or jobs, nothing at all."

"Okay, so out of these four I'm thinking we can drop Lisa Goddard as a suspect. I just don't see a teacher's assistant snatching bodies. But she might be helpful to us. We could ask her about the other three." Matt leaned back and thought. "I wonder if Carl Horton would have any luck trying to find information on Allistair…"

"It's worth a try."

Matt pulled out his cell phone and found the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department detective's number and hit the call button. "Hey Houston, what's going on?" Horton seemed to be in a good mood.

"Oh, a little of this and that. How 'bout you?"

"Work. But I've gotta say – it's a lot nicer without Montoya here - downright bearable in fact and almost enjoyable."

"Wow. Well, I've got a question for you." Matt went on to explain about the missing bodies and asked if he might have any leads on Rory Allistair.

"Allistair…let's see." There was silence for a minute. "Huh, that's just weird. He was working up at Mega Park but got fired…" He scrolled down through the information. "Uh huh. He was accused of dressing up in something besides a cartoon character outfit – like disguising himself and stalking women in the park during his off hours. They canned him and…" Horton punched more keys. "It looks like he jumped bail. No sign of him anywhere and he didn't show up for court."

"What was his job at the park?"

"He was a makeup artist and special effects guy for some of the shows."

"And how did he dress up when he was stalking the women?"

"He completely disguised himself. He had some kind of rubber mask and a wig from what the report says."

"Uh huh. Would you be able to send me that information? I think he may be exactly who we're looking for, Carl."

"Sure, just give me your email." The detective punched it into the computer and sent it off.

"Okay, it's here. I really appreciate the help, bud. You let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"I'll do it. Let me know how it turns out, would ya?"

"Sure thing, man. 'Bye." Matt pulled up the email and let CJ read through it.

"Matt, he's got to be it."

The PI got up and started pacing around the office, ending up going out on the patio and looking down over the street at the traffic. CJ followed him. "The problem is finding him, CJ. We have no idea what he might look like now. If he can make masks…" He shrugged and then pulled out his phone to let Lee know what he had found.

"Hey, I was about to call you. This Rory Allistair guy? He got fired for messing around with bodies in the morgue. I talked to Lisa Goddard. She didn't know exactly what he had done, but it had something to do with the bodies. She said most of the folks that worked there at the time were betting on necrophilia."

"Umh. Nasty. Well here's a little tidbit for you on him." He told Lee what Horton had sent to him.

"This guy has to be him. Now how in the hell do we find somebody when we have no idea what they might look like at any given time?"

"Plus we still need to know why he took 'em – and how they died in the first place."

"And we can't find that out until the ME can post 'em." He sighed. "Good Lord, people are sick."

"Ya know, he probably has to buy supplies to make these masks. I know there are a lot of suppliers around here but maybe that would be a place to start."

"Okay, I'll start making a list."


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"Hiroshi Nobuyuki? Matt Houston – I'm a consultant to the LAPD." Matt held out his hand to the surprised-looking man on the set of "Space Frontier". He shook the PI's hand.

"Can you give me just a minute?"

"Sure." Matt stood and watched in fascination as the man put the finishing touches on one of the characters and then sent him on his way. "That is absolutely amazing."

"Thanks." Nobuyuki wiped his hands on a towel. "What can I do for you, Mr. Houston?"

"I spoke to a friend of mine who works for the production company and he said that you might be able to help me out." The PI, without going into too much detail, told the man what was going on. "We've gotten together a list of suppliers that sell what we think the guy might need. But I wanted to talk to an expert such as yourself and see what you thought he might be using."

"Well, to get hired at Mega Park he would have to be pretty good, but let's face it – nobody gets real close to the characters onstage. It's not like here." He motioned to the studio around them. "

"Alright – here's another question for you. I'm assuming that a mold is taken of someone's face in order to make the mask, is that right?"

"It can be – or they can be made from a sculpture."

"So theoretically it would be possible to make a mask from someone in the morgue."

"Sure. It's called a death mask. It used to be popular back in the 1600's in Europe. They were often used as part of the funeral service. During the 1700's and 1800's they were sometimes used to try to help identify unknown corpses. They quit doing it when photography rolled around."

"So how would somebody go about doing that?"

"Wax is one way- or alginate. It wouldn't take too long."

"Well Mr. Nobuyuki, I sure do appreciate your help." Matt held out his hand and the two shook again.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."

"I'll sure do it. Thanks." The PI left the studio and went by the police station to pass on what he had learned from Nobuyuki.

"This whole case just gives me the creeps." Jennings shuddered. "Anyway, I've got a list of suppliers and a few copies of Allistair's DMV photo run off. Carl is going to help us out."

"How about we grab some lunch and then see what we can find out from these folks?"

"Good idea. Carl?"

"Yeah." The cop hung up the phone.

"Lunch and then hit the bricks on these suppliers?"

"Works for me. Where are we going?" He stood up and put on his jacket. Jennings shrugged and looked at Matt.

"How about Cluckin' Bucket?" The PI led the way to the elevator and the three detectives went down and collected their vehicles. After a lunch of fried chicken, cole slaw, and fries, the three men split up with part of the list and a picture of Rory Allistair and began checking with suppliers. Matt had gone to three different places and was sliding behind the wheel of his truck about to head to the fourth when his phone rang. "Yeah, Carl?"

"I think we may have hit the lotto, Houston. I'm at the Hollywood Effects Warehouse at the corner of Melrose and North Van Ness. One of the guys here thinks he knows him."

"Have you called Lee?"

"Yeah, he's rolling this way."

"So am I. Be there in about five minutes." Matt started the truck and pulled up outside the building just as Lee did. The two high-fived each other before walking in the door.

"Guys, this is Lester Macintosh. Mr. Macintosh, Det. Jennings and Matt Houston." The three shook hands.

"I know this guy. He used to come in here at least once a week a couple of years ago. Came to a lot of seminars that we gave on how to use some of the products that are available. Haven't seen him around in a while, though."

"Could you check your records and see what he purchased back then?"

Macintosh led them back to a computer terminal located along the back wall. "We keep records for about four years or so – longer for folks that come in more often. Most of our sales are to professionals but there are quite a few folks out there that like to tinker around with it. Especially to make Halloween masks and such." He punched a few keys on the terminal. "You said his name is Allistair?"

"Yeah." Lee exchanged a look with the other two.

"Here he is. Let's see: the last time he was here was June 1, 2012. He bought a bald cap, a pound of alginate, and some four inch plaster bandages. If he was making a mask, that's what he needed for the most part."

"Someone mentioned using wax?" Matt wanted to be absolutely sure.

"A lot of people used to use wax, but the alginate works even better. It gives you more control and it's cheap enough that just about anyone can buy it. His order came to about seventy five bucks."

"How long would someone need to make a mask using the supplies he got?"

"Not long - the alginate only takes five minutes to set if you use 70 degree water. It can set faster if you use warmer water. If he knew what he was doing...I'd say thirty minutes or so to get it done."

The three detectives looked at each other. "Boys, I think we've found our guy. Mr. Macintosh, would you give us a call if you hear from or see him again?" Matt thanked him and the three walked outside. "Now we know what he most likely used and how he did it."

"Yeah, but we still don't know how in the heck to find him now." Trenton shook his head.

"What about the truck he used?" Matt pulled out his keys.

"It was found about an hour ago." Lee pulled out his notebook. "It was a delivery truck from a party rental store of all places."

"Any prints?"

"There were. I haven't heard back from the lab." He picked up his phone and called Bob Wisnewski who had been handling the job. Matt walked to the back of the truck, dropped the tailgate and had a seat and was joined by Trenton.

"He sure had a good time on his date last night. Thought he never would shut up about it this morning." Carl laughed.

"Get ready – you're going to be hearing a lot more."

Jennings walked over to join the other two. "Hey – Bob says the prints came back to Allistair."

"So now we go see if the party rental place has surveillance cameras." The PI slid off of the tailgate and closed it as Lee's phone rang again.

"Yeah, Luis?" The detective closed his eyes. "Alright – hang on." He looked at Carl. "We've got a DB over on Fourth Street– which do you want to do?"

"In order to save my sanity I'll take the DB." Carl winked at Matt and headed for his car as a puzzled Jennings passed the information on to Luis Sanchez. Lee had become the unofficial boss in the office since Michael Hoyt had gotten shot.

"What in the heck was that about?" The cop moved to his car as Matt unlocked the truck door.

"I have no idea." The PI snickered as he got behind the wheel and pulled away from the curb. A short time later he and Lee made their way into Party Hearty. Balloons were floating everywhere in the store and loud music was blasting from the speakers. The two exchanged a look and headed for the counter where they were met by a couple of college-age girls who seemed to have a case of the giggles.

"Hi, I'm Det. Jennings, LAPD. We need to speak to the manager." Lee's statement ended the giggles.

"Sure, follow me." The brunette came out from behind the counter and led them back to an office. "Mrs. Rainey, there are detectives here to see you." She went back up front and Matt could see the two in deep conversation.

"Hey, I'm gonna take a look around." He rolled his eyes in the direction of the two girls and Lee nodded. Matt strolled through the store and then made his way up to the counter where the two girls were working on blowing up balloons. "Y'all sure seem to have a good time at work." He gave the pair a smile.

"Usually." The brunette looked back toward the office where Lee and the manager were in a conversation. "We're not in trouble are we?"

"Nah – he's here to talk to Mrs. Rainey about the delivery truck." Matt's answer was very casual and as he was looking at some party poppers on the counter he saw a look that the girls shared. "Y'all don't know anything about it do you?"

"Well…"The blonde started to speak but the brunette shushed her.

"I've got a feeling that it was kind of a joke, wasn't it?" Matt lowered his voice as he looked around and gave them a smile.

"It was. We never thought Mrs. Rainey would freak out like she did." The blonde nodded. "We actually let a guy borrow it, but he didn't get it back before we opened up yesterday and she freaked out."

Matt chuckled. "So what did he need it for?"

"He was going to play a prank on some friends, but I'm not sure what."

"Sounds like a fun guy. What's his name?"

"Rory."

"So does he work here, too?"

"No, he's been coming in a good bit the last month or so trying to sell some masks that he made." The brunette finally spoke up. "They're pretty good. Mrs. Rainey told him that she might buy some for Halloween."

"So he makes his own? Wow, that's gotta be hard. I wonder if he would make one for me?"

"Sure. Here…" The blond reached under the counter and handed him a card. "I'm sure he'll be happy for the business."

"Thanks, ladies. I appreciate it." Matt felt a tap on his shoulder as Lee passed by on the way to the door. "See ya." He followed the cop outside.

"The surveillance cameras were turned off."

"Let's hope his phone isn't." The PI grinned.

"Huh?" Lee took the offered card. "You're kidding me."

"Nope. How do you want to work it?"

"We can pick him up for the cops in Florida."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate the help."

Lee's phone rang. "Yeah, Carl?" He stopped in his tracks. "You're kidding me. Son of a gun. Well we just got an address on Allistair and are about to go round him up. Keep me up to date will ya? Thanks, man." He put the phone back in his pocket. "The DB on Fourth – was Mario Concetto."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Matt put on his holster and vest before getting back into his truck and heading to the address that they had for Allistair in the 5900 block of Templeton Street. Climbing back into the truck, he put his phone on the console and hit the number for the office. "Hey Chris, can I talk to CJ for a minute?" He pulled away from the curb and headed east.

"So you decided to call in, huh?"

"I've been pretty busy. We've got a line on Allistair and are about to see if we can bring him in."

"Be careful, hon."

"Yes ma'am. Just wanted to let you know that I might be late tonight. I'll call you. Love you."

"Love you, too, Cowboy. 'Bye."

Matt disconnected the call and thought through what had happened so far that day. They had come quite a ways in the span of about seven hours. If they could bring in Allistair and get him to talk they might be able to wrap up part of the mess. With Concetto's body being found, Matt wondered if the others would be found, and if Allistair had done the body dump. He pulled up in front of the address that was on the card. A pair of uniformed officers arrived within seconds. Matt and Lee decided to split up and each take an officer with them, Lee on the front door and Matt on the back. As they jogged around to the back of the house, Matt could hear music coming from inside. They could hear as Lee hammered on the front door and announced himself. The music inside continued and no one came to the door. Jennings hammered again. The voice of the uniformed officer came over the radio and instructed Matt and the officer with him to make entry. Looking at the rookie next to him, Matt pulled his Glock, nodded to the cop, and hit the door right near the knob, sending it crashing into what was the laundry room of the house. "LAPD!"

After clearing the laundry room, the pair went into the kitchen where it appeared Allistair did the majority of his mask making. Matt saw bags of alginate, plaster, paint, and wigs on practically every surface, but no sign of the man they were looking for. They moved on into a bedroom where they met up with Lee and the other officer. The music was coming from the bathroom and the sound of running water could be heard along with some really bad singing. Lee yelled out, "LAPD! Hands in the air!"

A white face peeked out from behind the shower curtain and a scream went up that would have made any fan of horror movies proud. "Lemme see your hands, Allistair!" All four men had their pistols pointed at the man who looked ready to pass out from fright. Matt reached over and pulled the plug on the radio that was blaring on the vanity.

Allistair was standing in shocked silence, his hands in the air and soap dripping off of his body. "Uh, can I rinse, man?"

"Nope. Grab your towel and get out." Lee kept his pistol trained on the suspect as one of the officers stepped up and handcuffed the man. "Read him his rights, would you, Connelly?" The detective holstered his pistol and he and Matt both put on gloves and began searching the house. After a few minutes of looking around, they found nothing besides the mask-making supplies and about eight ounces of marijuana. "So did the masks pay for the pot or was it the other way around?" Lee looked at the PI.

"Maybe both?" Matt shrugged.

Back at the station, Rory Allistair was complaining about not being allowed to put on a pair of shorts. "It'll save you a step when you check into the Gray Bar Hotel." Matt sat down in one of the chairs in the interrogation room, propping his feet on the table and taking a sip of coffee. "So, why take the bodies from the morgue?"

"I didn't take any bodies." Allistair gave the PI what was probably supposed to have been a tough guy look but came out looking more like a near-sighted candy thief.

"Sure you did. Were you using them to make masks - like you did with Frederick Kord?" He took another sip as a look of shock swept across the man's face.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I sure hope you don't play poker with a face like that." The PI continued to sip on the coffee and stare at Allistair who was trying his best to look everywhere other than Houston. After polishing off the coffee Matt stood up and stretched, then began walking around the room. "So how bad was the decomp when you dumped Concetto?"

"Who's Concetto?"

"The fat guy that you dropped out over on Fourth. I guess if you didn't have him in a cooler he reallllly started smelling, huh?" The PI gave a chuckle.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Uh huh." He kept circling the room. "So I guess you had plenty of room in the back of the delivery truck for all four of the bodies. Not a bad idea, really – except using a refrigerated truck would have been a lot smarter." Allistair sat in silence.

Lee came through the door holding a folder. "Looks like we can wrap it up, Houston. We've got a bunch of witnesses saying that he dumped Concetto and his buddy rolled over on him – said he did all the killings, too." The cop gave Allistair a big smile. "I really appreciate their help. See, I've got a big date tonight and because they helped me I'm going to get out of here on time…and they won't see as much time behind bars. But you on the other hand…"

"I didn't kill anybody! All I had to do was…" The suspect stopped.

"You were saying?" Matt leaned in behind his right ear and spoke in the deep gravelly tone. Allistair stuttered.

"I...I...I didn't kill anybody. The guy hired me to swipe the bodies, so I just figured I'd use them to get some molds for masks while I had them. But that fat guy – God! He started smelling really bad."

"So you dumped him on Fourth. What about the others – where are they?"

"The guy and girl are in the river. I dumped them off of the east side of the Fletcher Street Bridge."

"And the other guy?" Matt's tone hadn't changed.

"I didn't have him. The guy that hired me took him."

"And who is the guy?" Allistair remained quiet. "You've got until the count of five to tell me who he is, boy…one…two…three…fo-…"

"I don't know his name. All I've got is an email address."

"Spit it out."

"It was allaboutthemoney. On Goggle." He swallowed hard. "I swear it man."

Lee started for the door, then turned to look at Rory Allistair. "If this doesn't pan out – I'm going to turn him loose on you…just so you know." He walked out the door leaving the two in the interrogation room. Matt didn't say a word but sat back down in the chair across the table and stared at the man. The cop came back to the door in just a minute and waved Houston out.

"What about me? You just gonna leave me here?"

"Do you want me to leave him here with you?"

"No." Allistair laid his head on the table as the two detectives walked down the hall. Matt managed to get to the squad room before he giggled.

"Sorry." He cleared his throat. "Who is it?"

"Clark Sanderson - Michael Griesman's boss."

"Damn." Matt knew that a man like Sanderson wasn't going to be brought in for questioning without a warrant and a high-dollar attorney. "All we have right now is what Allistair is telling us." He scratched his moustache with the back of his thumbnail. "But…if we sit on him, we might be able to let him lead us to Griesman's body." He looked over at the young detective and saw the look of exasperation on his face. "Or…" He grinned as he reached into his pocket. "We could let our little friend here help us out."

"Is that one of your critters that Hoyt's always talking about?"

"Yup. Let's see – if we plant one on his car…what other vehicles does he have there?"

"Uhhhh…" Lee dove for his computer causing the PI to chuckle. "His wife has a Mercedes SUV and there's his Jaguar. Those are the only two registered to him."

"Alright. So we pop a couple on their vehicles and a camera where we can keep an eye on things in case someone else shows up. I can keep an eye on them at home…and you and Miss Bridgette can go have a good time."

"Good." He stood up and followed Matt to the elevator. As the doors closed he looked over at the man. "I've got a question."

"I've probably got an answer – not necessarily the right one."

"Is there really a camera in Hoyt's office?"

"Not telling. I have way too much fun with that." He laughed. "I'll be glad when he gets back to work – I kinda miss tormenting him."

The pair made a trip to Carl Sanderson's Beverly Hills home and while Lee asked questions inside about Michael Griesman, Matt - who had stayed hidden when their suspect came to the door – popped critters on both of the vehicles as well as one of the small cameras on a tree that pointed at the house so that they could see if anyone else came or left. When Jennings got back in the car, Matt was stretched out in the back seat. When they were clear, the PI sat up and activated the critters as Lee drove them back to the station.

"Houston, I really appreciate this."

"Not a problem. I just want an invitation to the wedding."

"I just met the girl. I'm not even thinking about marriage."

"Sure you are – now." The PI chuckled. "Have a good time tonight, Romeo." The two parted ways and Matt headed home, bringing in the laptop with him as he walked through the kitchen door. Tilly scampered into the kitchen and greeted him. "Hey there, Tilly. Have you had a good day?" He reached down and patted the dog on the head as CJ came in carrying Catey. After giving CJ a kiss he gave Catey a buzz on the cheek causing her to giggle. "How are the rest of my ladies this evening?"

"Fine. How did it go?" She handed a squirming Catey over to her dad and went to the refrigerator to get his dinner.

"The best thing I can say about Rory Allistair is that he was squeaky clean when he got the cuffs slapped on." He laughed and Catey followed suit. "He was in the shower when we found him." Once again the baby started laughing. "He says that Griesman's boss, Carl Sanderson, hired him to swipe the bodies and kept Griesman's. Allistair used the other three for masks and then dumped them." His phone rang just then. "Yeah, Carl?" He bounced Catey on his knee. "Uh huh. Good. Thanks for letting me know. 'Bye." He disconnected the call and put the phone back in his shirt pocket. "They just recovered the bodies of Santiago and Carter. Concetto turned up earlier on Fourth Street."

"So the only one still out there is Michael Griesman." She shook her head as she turned to pull the plate out of the microwave. "I wonder what the deal was with Sanderson and Griesman?" Taking Catey Rose back from her husband, CJ sat down at the table as he popped the top on a beer.

"Don't know. I've got critters on both of Sanderson's vehicles and a camera on the driveway so I can keep an eye on them tonight."

"What about Lee?"

Matt grinned as he took another swig of beer. "He's got another date with Bridgette."

"Ahhh, so you're trying to help him out again, huh?" She smiled. "Aren't you just so sweet?"

"Sanderson isn't gonna think so when we bust his a…"

"Language, hon. Small ears here." She nodded at Catey who was hanging on his every word.

"Yes, dear." He used his best henpecked voice, causing the baby to start giggling again.

Later on, after he had given Catey the last bottle of the night and put her to bed, Matt pulled out the laptop and checked on the critters again. Nothing had happened so far and he checked the recorded footage from the camera to find no movement at all. Settling back into his recliner with his Fire Investigation books, he began reading the chapter that the class was now covering on grass and wildland fire investigation. The next thing he knew, CJ was shaking him awake. "Huh?"

"Sanderson is on the move." She turned the laptop so that he could see it. Sure enough, the Mercedes SUV was headed east down Lexington Road and turned onto North Beverly Boulevard. Matt pulled out his phone and called Carl Trenton letting him know while CJ rewound the surveillance footage from the camera. It showed Carl Sanderson walking out the front door and taking his wife's vehicle.

"I'm going to see if I can catch up with him." Matt hung up and gave CJ a peck on the cheek before taking the laptop and heading out the kitchen door. "Love you, Babe. Thanks."

"Love you, Cowboy. Be careful." She sighed as the kitchen door closed and picked up his textbook and began reading.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

With the laptop open on the front passenger seat of the truck, Matt headed east toward Beverly Hills. Sanderson had now entered Franklin Canyon Park and was on Lake Drive headed north. The PI called and updated Carl Trenton, hitting the speaker button on the phone and keeping in constant contact with the detective as they made their way toward the park. "He's turning onto Hastain Trail." Matt looked over at the map. "I'm going to go up Coldwater Canyon and then take Royalton Drive. There's a dirt road up there at the dead end of Royalton that connects and will put me further up on Hastain."

"Okay, I can't even see his taillights yet." Carl cursed as he negotiated a hairpin turn and stepped on the gas again. "We don't know for sure that he's even doing anything more than taking a drive, so we better just observe."

"Gotcha." Matt noticed that their suspect had slowed down considerably and passed the information on to the cop. "I just hit the dirt road. I should be on Hastain in a couple of minutes." He looked back over at the computer. "He's stopped, Carl – about half a mile ahead of you."

"Okay." The cop slowed down and eased over on the side of the road.

"I'm about an eighth of a mile to the east of him. Think I'll take a little walk in the woods." Matt pulled over to the side of the road and closed the laptop, reaching into the console for his pistol and tucking it into the back of his shirt as he quietly shut the truck door. He eased into the woods and began making his way towards the hiking trail that ran between the south and north end of Hastain. It wasn't long before he had both Trenton and Sanderson in sight. The accountant was pushing a deer cart in front of him, loaded with something in a tarp, cursing under his breath and struggling over the rugged terrain. Both Matt and Trenton watched as he hit a wash in the trail and the cart got stuck. Looking over at the cop who nodded, the two detectives walked out of the woods, Matt with his hand on the grip of his pistol. He flipped off the safety as Sanderson looked up at him. "Nice night for a hike."

"What are you doing here?"

"Just getting some fresh air. How about you?" Matt kept the tone conversational as Trenton silently came up behind Sanderson.

Turning, the accountant began tugging the cart back in the direction that he had come, jumping when he saw Trenton just a few feet away. "What's going on here?" He looked back at Matt.

"Need a little help? Looks like you kinda got stuck there, Mr. Sanderson." The PI was now within a few feet.

"NO!" He gave a nervous laugh. "No, I'm uh, I'm exercising." Again nervous laughter. "My wife is always telling me that I don't get enough exercise – spend too much time at the office, you know."

"Well I'm sure she wouldn't mind it if we helped you out a little bit."

"No, no, I've got it." He went back to tugging on the cart.

"Mr. Sanderson, step away from the cart, please." Trenton was pulling on a pair of gloves and the accountant dropped his head and moved away a few feet. The cop began opening the tarp and Sanderson ran into the woods, Matt hot on his heels. It wasn't long before Trenton heard a screech followed quickly by a crashing noise complete with cracking branches, followed by silence. "Houston – you okay?"

"Yep, but I think Sanderson here is gonna need the rescue squad and an ambulance. Looks like he broke his leg."

It was as the cop was calling in for the Fire Department, an ambulance, and the coroner, that he heard "Uh oh," from down below followed by a rattling noise, a gunshot, and a scream that sounded almost female. "You two alright?"

"I am, but our friend here apparently isn't too fond of snakes – or gunshots. He pissed himself and passed out." Matt managed to get it out before he burst into laughter.

The headlines in the Los Angeles _Tribune_ the next morning were about the case:

**Successful Accounting Executive Arrested on Murder Charges**

Matt leaned back in the chair on the patio as he began reading the story. It was then that his cell phone rang. "Hey, Hoyt."

"Hey yourself. I read the paper this morning. It sounds like you and Carl Trenton had a nice walk in the woods last night."

"Yeah, I think we enjoyed it more than Carl Sanderson." He told Hoyt how Michael Griesman had discovered that his boss was skimming from their clients and had been killed when he refused to remain silent about the thefts. Sanderson had killed Griesman by putting a slow-acting poison in a drink. When it occurred to him that the ME would be able to find the poison in the man's system, he hired Allistair to steal the bodies. The two had met in a bar when Sanderson was trying to figure out how to eliminate his problem. The PI cracked up again as he told about their apprehension of the accountant. The cop started laughing.

"Man, I can't wait to get back to work." His time off after being shot twice was dragging by for the lieutenant.

"You know, they may not need you to come back, Michael. Lee's doing a pretty good job in your place - IF he can keep his head out of the clouds."

"Oh?" Hoyt listened as Matt told him about Bridgette. "So now it's not enough for you to play PI and cop – you have to be Cupid, too?"

"You know what they say in big business, doncha? Diversification." The PI laughed as his friend gave a disgusted sigh.

After talking to Hoyt for a few more minutes, the PI hung up, put the paper on the table, and walked over to the wall lining the edge of the patio. As he stared down at the passing traffic, he couldn't help but think about Mario Santiago. He was curious as to what the autopsy would show. No matter what, his grandmother's life was going to be much emptier. The good feeling over catching Sanderson paled in comparison to the sadness that he felt for the elderly woman and as he picked the paper up and headed back into the office to start his day, he vowed to himself not to give up on the Santiago case.


End file.
